Arsenal vs Leicester City. Premier League.
Emirates Stadium.
Willian and Dani Ceballos in line to return for Arsenal; Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers remains hopeful Jamie Vardy will be available; Arsenal vs Leicester will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office; Kick-off at 7.15pm
Friday 23 October 2020 12:12, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Arsenal vs Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday; Kick-off 7.15pm.
Arsenal will be hopeful of having Willian and Dani Ceballos fit and available for Sunday's Premier League visit of Leicester.
The pair had minor knocks - Willian (calf) and Ceballos (ankle) - and were not risked for the 2-1 Europa League win at Rapid Vienna on Thursday.
The Gunners made six changes in Austria and the likes of Hector Bellerin, Granit Xhaka and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, introduced as a substitute in Vienna, are expected to return, while Rob Holding (hamstring), Pablo Mari (ankle), Calum Chambers and Gabriel Martinelli (both knee) are absent through injury.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers remains hopeful Jamie Vardy will be fit for the trip to the Emirates.
The striker has missed the last two games with a calf problem and will be assessed ahead of Sunday.
Caglar Soyuncu and Youri Tielemans (both groin) remain sidelined, Daniel Amartey (thigh) is out and Ricardo Pereira (Achilles) is likely to be available by the end of November.
Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Preview Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox
Arsenal vs Leicester will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office; Kick-off at 7.15pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
This fixture just screams low scoring.
Mikel Arteta is without question a shrewd cookie and is getting the best out of the players at his disposal. But I'm yet to fully buy into the long-term prospects of this controlled style of football that doesn't result in many big chances being created. For example, only Crystal Palace and West Brom have had fewer shots than Arsenal this season. And as Adam Bate wrote earlier this season regarding shot data: "The reality is that shot volume matters. It is an excellent predictor of future performance, far more so than conversion rates."
A developing angle to keep in mind too is the drop off in the performance levels of Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang in front of goal. In four matches since signing his new deal, he's yet to find the net and his expected goals data is also underperforming against his usual standard.
Meanwhile, Leicester could still be without their four best players for this one, with Wilfred Ndidi, Ricardo Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy, who could pass a fitness test, all in the treatment room. It's certainly affecting their attacking prowess. Against West Ham, they mustered just an expected goal figure of 0.57 and followed that up with a 0.61 return in the defeat to Aston Villa.
At the prices, I'm happy to side with a goalless draw, which would be the first 0-0 in an Arsenal home league game for exactly four years!
JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-0 (12/1 with Sky Bet)
Juan Mata is the special guest on this week's show, and he tells Peter Smith about Man Utd's return to form, looks ahead to their clash with Chelsea, and shares his views on the work being done off the pitch by Marcus Rashford.
Plus, we have more fallout from the Merseyside derby with Alan Myers explains Everton's perspective, Johnny Phillips discusses cult hero Conor Coady's importance to Wolves and Sky Sports Data Editor Adam Smith delves into the numbers behind the Premier League's goal rush, and makes a bold Pitch!
Listen to the Sky Sports Pitch to Post Preview Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox
